


Visiting, Confessions, and Paladins Being Clueless About Galra Instincts

by moretrash



Series: Dads of Marmora [19]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dads of Marmora (Voltron), Keith and Shiro being supportive of one another is so important to me, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nests, Play Fighting, awkward cuddling, shiro is clueless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 14:18:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14166720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moretrash/pseuds/moretrash
Summary: The paladins visit Keith at the Blade of Marmora. Lance has been pining after Keith. Keith has been pining after Lance. Shiro is clueless. Bake at 450 for twenty minutes and you have a fluffy fun time ahead.





	Visiting, Confessions, and Paladins Being Clueless About Galra Instincts

**Author's Note:**

> This is a mix of a comment I got here about Keith having a crush and a request I got from grimbee-moreid on tumblr: 
> 
> "The voltron team primary thinks of Keith as the emo/lone wolf, what if the team had to spend a few days at the blades base and they see how keith acts with the blade. Expecially Keith's relationship with Regris, like the team sees them play fitting during a training session and thinks it a real fight until one of the blades says something.  
> Idk I just think it would be cool for the team to see the other side of Keith. The one that they seem to not want to even try to get to know."

Lance had never been inside the blade of marmora headquarters. No, that honor went only to Shiro and Keith.

Which was why he was so excited as all the paladins approached said headquarters in their lions. The castle was too large to land there, so Coran stayed behind to keep the castle from… floating away? What exactly did a giant castle spaceship do if left parked in space?

For a week, the paladins would be staying at the headquarters. It was a chance to visit Keith and get to know him better, along with getting to know his pack better (though Lance still didn’t completely understand what “pack” meant). Lance had become much closer with Keith via video calls and the occasional short visit to the castle, but he could admit that he hadn’t even chipped a hole in Keith’s walls in order to get to know him. He hoped that he could get to know the unguarded Keith that he knew resided behind the steels bricks of his heart. Lance knew he was in love with Keith. The boy was just irresistible to Lance. He was rude and often insulted Lance as a part of their long-standing rivalry, but he was kind when he wanted to be. He always apologizes when he realized that he went over the line with an insult, and Lance had always worked well as a team with Keith. Not to mention the fact that he was absolutely beautiful. Well, Lance would always harbor a bit of resentment towards the mullet, but it was a part of Keith and it was, strangely, attractive on him. But, Lance was fairly sure Keith was straight, which he was dismayed about but he would never hold resentment towards Keith is he was rejected for that reason. Lance himself was bisexual, a fact known to few due to the fact that he flirted exclusively with females.

As the lions landed all the paladins were greeted by Keith and Kolivan. Lance was surprised to see Shiro and Allura get genuine, non-awkward hugs. He supposed the problem between the two and Keith had been resolved for the most part.

Pidge and Hunk were embraced with a smile, even. That was a fact that shocked Lance. He had only seen the half-Galra smile on rare occasions. 

Finally, it came it Lance. The paladin in the blue armor was shocked to feel Keith hugging him fiercely, tightly, and yet softly and tenderly. Lance hugged him back, patting the shorter man’s back and few times as he pulled away.

Keith smiled shyly at the group. Lance could see now that Keith was wearing a white sweatshirt and what seemed like sweatpants. Perfect lounge material from what Lance could see.

“Kit, go find your brother and get settled for dinner while I get the paladins settled, alright?” Kolivan said. Keith pouted for a short, almost imperceptible moment (Lance had to keep himself from exclaiming the fact that he had never thought Keith capable of pouting), and left the room. Kolivan gestured for the paladins to follow him.

They were led to a large, spacious room that did not contain beds, but was padded with layers and layers of pillows and blankets. It hit Lance that the area was a nesting room just from the similarity to the nest Keith had built at the castle.

“Unfortunately, there are no open rooms due to a sudden arrival of a large group of blades from other bases, so you paladins will have to nest with Keith and I’s pack for the week. Of course, if you have objections, arrangements could be made.” Kolivan said.

“No, this is fine, Kolivan. Thank you.” Shiro said. Though he was confused at the term ‘nest’, he ignored the confusion. He was sure it would be easier to figure out later. The ground felt like Lance was jumping on a non-springy bed, but with all the softness of the best mattress in the universe. And, from how well-rested Keith looked, it probably was. 

“Come along, Paladins. I am sure you are hungry from your journey.” Kolivan said and really, Lance couldn’t argue with the Galra. It had been a long day and lunch had long since filtered through his stomach, leaving it empty and begging to be filled. He allowed Kolivan to lead the way to a large room, similar to a school cafeteria, with multiple tables and a buffet-style serving line. The food, however, was not the neon green food goo that Lance had become accustomed to during his time in space. No, his nose was filled with the scents of spices and meats, fruits and vegetables and multiple toppings and sauces. It made his mouth water a bit. If the scents alone were that good, Lance could hardly imagine what the tastes must be like. 

The group caught up with Keith and Regris at the end of the line that was starting to form. Hunk patted Keith’s shoulder.

“Well, buddy, you’re the expert among us about this food. Give us some recommendations!” He said. Keith smiled and stood on his tip toes to see what exactly was being served that day. Lance felt a strange urge to scoop Keith up and lift him so he could see. He instantly waved the thought away, wondering why the hell his mind supplied him with that solution.

“Well, the vegetables are actually really good! Ilert cream, too, its the yellowish pudding. But that’s more of a desert. Um… Frutrub filet tastes a little like pork if you want some Earth-like flavors. Well, anything’s good, really.” Keith said. Hunk nodded a bit.

“Yeah? It’ll be nice to have something other than food goo for a change.” the yellow paladin said. Keith nodded a bit and grinned.

When the group came to the buffet, Hunk noticed that Keith seemed to have a much more balanced diet than he did at the castle. Back at the castle, he was known to skip meals in favor of training, but now he seemed to eat a decent amount. Hunk noticed that many of the foods seemed to be vegetables. Maybe those were a favorite of Keith’s, he supposed.

Lance loaded his food onto a plate, trying to tell what was what. He could see meat, and various sauces. “What are all of these sauces, mullet?” Lance asked.

“The light yellow one is like… sort of sweet? And the brown one is sort of savory so I’d put it with meats and such. The purple one is sort of a salad dressing, like a vinaigrette? And the tye-dye one is like maple syrup, kind of.” Keith said. Lance shrugged and put the sauces that would fit with his meal on his plate.

The large group sat down at a table that had just enough seats for all of them. Lance saw Ulaz glance at Regris’ and Keith’s plates for a second and nod approvingly. Was he making sure the two had balanced meals? It sure seemed like it. Of course, from what he understood about Galra (which, granted, wasn’t much), Lance knew that Keith was considered a toddler, and Regris was considered to be a slightly older child. Lance thought that he was nearing the Galra age range of a teenager, but he couldn’t be sure. Not only that, Ulaz was a doctor. Lance wouldn’t exactly be surprised if Ulaz was making sure that the two were keeping to healthy and balanced diets.

Lance watched as Keith talked with the adult Galra in a happy, cheerful tone, much more relaxed than Lance had ever seen him. Lance couldn’t help a smile as the four adults actually engaged in Keith’s attempts at conversation rather than ignoring him. If Lance ignored the fact that they were in a cafeteria-like space and they were all large purple cats, it almost seemed like a family dinner. The type of incredibly domestic family dinner where every member of the family is gathered around the table, talking about their days and laughing as they ate. It was incredibly domestic, and yet Lance didn’t feel an ounce of envy.

Usually, when the blue paladin saw a happy family out in space, all he felt was envy. He missed his family so much every second of every day yet, watching the blades talk, he didn’t feel that. From what Lance knew about Keith, the former red paladin had probably never known that sort of domestic setting. Yet, Lance had experienced that every day of his life up until he left for the Garrison. He didn’t feel envy when he watched Keith interact with his family. No, all he felt was an odd sort of gratefulness towards the group of Galra sitting around him for giving Keith the domestic family experiences he likely had never had the chance to experience.

Yet, Lance felt his heart speed up when Keith locked eyes with him, asking how his day was. Why oh why was his mind so infatuated with the deep violet eyes that stared into his own? Since when did Keith look so innocent and pure? 

“Lance?” Hunk’s voice knocked him out of his thoughts, and Lance realized he had been staring.

“Oh, um, my day has been fine. A bit busy because I didn’t pack until I woke up, and I woke up late, but you know me, I always do stuff like that!” Lance said, hoping that his cheeks didn’t look as warm as they felt.

“That’s good. Maybe you should pack earlier so you aren’t so busy next time.” Keith said. Unbeknownst to the paladins and Keith, Kolivan was observing Lance and Keith. He saw the lovestruck shine in Keith’s eyes when he talked to or about the blue paladin. However, when Antok had brought it up, he was vehemently denied it. After a few more days, Keith had lamented the fact that he was sure that Lance wasn’t attracted to guys. All of the pack members realized the significance of this confession. Keith trusted them with the knowledge of the deepest desires of his heart, trusting them to keep quiet. They swore to themselves, separately, that they would never break that trust if they could help it. They knew a bit about the walls that Keith kept up. 

-

After dinner, the group returned to the nesting room. Regris and Keith were left to their own device while Kolivan and Antok escaped to one corner of the room, with Ulaz and Thace going to the other. Lance thought for a split second that the pairs were… mating, so to say. However, he was relieved to find that it was just gentle moments to wind down from the day with their mate.

“Do you guys wanna play a board game? Or we could watch a movie? Or, um… anything, really.” Keith said, rubbing his arm shyly as he tried to engage the paladins in an activity.

“Let’s play a board game, buddy.” Shiro said, ruffling Keith’s hair reassuringly. Keith smiled a bit and went over to a shelf.

“We have one that’s sort of like monopoly? And a really complex jenga… one that’s sort of where you have to play a weird version of truth or dare so I don’t really like that one. Pidge, I think you would like this one about code breaking…” Keith said as he looked at the various boxes. Shiro smiled a bit. Keith always tried so hard to be friends with everyone, though it didn’t work out a lot. 

“How about the jenga one, buddy? It sounds fun. Plus, Pidge and Hunk could probably beat us at a game for once.” Shiro said. Keith laughed and pulled down the box. Regris helped him set it up at a table so they’d have a flat surface. Kance noticed that it really was a complex jenga. The pieces varied in size and shape, making for a much harder time to pull the pieces out successfully. Lance wanted to coo when he saw Regris playfully life Keith when he could no longer reach the top of tower sitting down. Though Keith grumbled, he also let out a short laugh.

Kolivan, Antok, Ulaz, and Thace joined the group sometime around the fifth round of the game, after Thace gently broke up an argument between Pidge and Hunk over who caused the downfall of the tower that round.

Again, Lance was hit with a wave of affection for Keith when the other boy leaned his head sleepily on Lance’s shoulder sometime around the seventh round of the game. 

After the eighth round of play, Ulaz gently removed Keith and Regris from the game. After a few minutes, Lance looked over out of curiosity and saw Ulaz draping blankets over Regris and Keith, a thicker one over Keith to keep him warm and a thinner one over Regris because of Regris’ thicker fur. It occured to Lance that Ulaz was putting Keith and Regris to bed, like an attentive parent after a long day. Usually, Lance would have laughed at the idea of an eighteen-year-old being put to bed like a child, but he reminded himself that Keith really was a child from their point of view. Plus, Keith didn’t look annoyed or disgruntled. In fact, he seemed to be soaking up the attention he was getting like it was water and he was dying in the desert.

Ulaz, as well as the rest of the adult Galra in the pack, preferred to keep Keith and Regris on a general routine. Ulaz noticed that once Keith had settled into the routine, his temper had mellowed quite a bit. It wasn’t completely gone or even close to it, but Ulaz supposed it wouldn’t feel the same if Keith was completely calm. No, but he was significantly less confrontational when he was having a good day. Ulaz supposed it was because he always knew what to expect for his day and who he was likely to encounter. In the morning, after breakfast and a short rest to let his food settle, Keith and Regris had training. Most of the time it was with Antok, who, despite being soft and cuddly to the kits at any other time, never gave them any slack during training unless they weren’t feeling well. He knew that, although the two were kits, they were just as skilled as any of the adults there. Afterwards, they had lunch, followed by a short rest time. Ulaz called it was rest due to the fact that he didn’t strictly have his kits nap, but they did have to do a quiet and relaxing activity if they didn’t. Afterwards, Keith and Regris had free time, which was normally spent play fighting, and then dinner and relaxation time before going to bed. Ulaz preferred to keep the kits on a general “bedtime” so they got a maximum amount of sleep, the fact that Keith’s friends were there didn’t change that.

Soon after the kits were asleep, the other four Galra followed suit one by one, wrapping themselves protectively around the two kits. The paladins saw no point in staying awake any longer, and one by one, they too dropped off to sleep.

Keith woke up an hour and a half into his sleep when Antok let out a particularly loud snore. He didn’t mind, really, it was quick and easy to get back to sleep. But, that night, Keith was kind of glad that he woke up when he saw that Shiro’s eyes were still open, staring at the ceiling. He sat up and carefully moved his way through the tangle of large limbs and bodies before making his way to the group of (mostly) sleeping paladins and sitting next to Shiro, the older male looking over at Keith in confusion.

“Can’t sleep, Shiro?” Keith asked. He knew, probably better than anyone else, that sleep didn’t come easy to Shiro on a good night. It was probably stressful for the man to be near Galra and have to sleep near them. Shiro, in response, shrugged a bit.

“Can I make a guess why?” Keith asked. Shiro looked confused, hesitantly nodding.

“You’re uncomfortable with sleeping near Galra. That, or you don’t want anyone to be woken up by your nightmares.” Keith whispered. Shiro nodded again.

“Both, really. I know your… pack, would never hurt me, but I just can’t help but feel a bit… scared, I guess, about it. And you know I scream during some of my nightmares. I don’t want to wake anyone up.” Shiro said sheepishly, hiding his face as though embarrassed.

“I understand your fear about sleeping near my pack. You’re right, they would never hurt you. But you have a very valid reason to be scared, Shiro, and that’s completely okay. And everyone would understand if you woke them up. I’d be willing to bet that most, if not all of us have nightmares. Yours may be a bit worse, but that’s okay.” Keith said, “Can I suggest a compromise for tonight?” He asked. Shiro smiled and nodded a bit. Somehow, Keith had a way of reassuring him while still recognizing that he had those worries and fears for a reason.

“How about this. I’ll lay near you for the night. I can take down Ulaz in training, and I’m pretty sure if I had a good reason, I could muster up enough strength in my… admittedly smaller body to take down Antok. So, I can protect you. Does that sound good?” Keith suggested. As though hearing the declaration, Antok chose that moment to let out a loud snore, making Shiro and Keith jump in surprise. Shiro thought for a bit and nodded slowly. Keith smiled and settled down close to where Shiro was laying down.

“Try and sleep, okay Shiro?” Keith said, curling up and closing his eyes. He could only hope that Shiro slept as well.

Keith was sure it wasn’t too long after he settled down near Shiro that he felt someone tripping over his body. He woke up and sat up in confusion. He was surprised to see Lance getting up.

“Lance? Did you trip over me?” Keith asked. Lance jumped at his voice and flushed.

“Yeah. Sorry about waking you up. I was just thirsty.” Lance said. Keith smiled a bit, though he was sure that Lance couldn’t see it in the dark.

“Its fine, Lance.” Keith said. He watched as Lance laid back down in his spot and sighed, pulling the blanket over his head. “Um… are you okay?” He asked hesitantly.

“Yeah. I’m just a really light sleeper.” Lance said. Keith nodded and frowned in worry.

“Alright. Well… if you want, I heard cuddling could make people sleep better.... Only if you want, though.” Keith said, biting his lip and knowing that his face was completely red. Lance sputtered in surprise, but Keith soon felt him settling down near where Keith was laying.

Keith stretched his arms out until Lance rolled close, awkwardly curling close. Keith was sure that his heart was racing and he could only hope that Lance couldn’t feel it. He wrapped his arms around the blue paladin and loosely curled around him, draping a thick and warm blanket over them both.

“Hey, um… Keith? Now that we’re pretty much cuddling, is it okay if I tell you something?” Lance said. Keith was a bit worried when he heard how Lance’s breath seemed to speed up a bit.

“Of course, Lance. What is it?’ Keith said, trying to keep his voice light and reassuring. Clearly, Lance was hesitant or nervous about what he was about to say.

“Well, um… you see, I’ve kind of… Well, I sort of… like you? Like, I love you, but its okay if you don’t like guys.. Or you don’t like meme, if you do like guys. Anyway, just ignore that, okay? It was stupid.” Lance said, hiding his face in the blanket. His heart was hammering in his chest like someone had turned it to overdrive, and his face felt flaming hot, so he had no doubts that he was blushing a deep crimson. His heart dropped when all he got was silence from Keith.

Keith was in shock, to be completely honest. Never, in a million years, would he ever have thought that Lance would feel the same about him. Gorgeous, gorgeous Lance, who was kind to everyone he came across, who was good at reassurance and good with people, two things Keith couldn’t say about himself. Lance, who was absolutely stunning and who was so perceptive to the feelings of other people. Who teased Keith relentlessly, but always apologized if he noticed that he had crossed a line with his teasing. Keith realized he had been silent the entire time he was thinking, and no doubt that would nerve-wracking for Lance.

“Lance… I like you too, honestly. I just… never thought you would feel the same way. I didn’t think you liked guys.” Keith said, his voice soft. Lance glanced up and grinned.

“Seriously?” He asked incredulously. Keith smiled gently and nodded.

“Yes, seriously. I feel like this sounds rude, but… its late. We can talk specifics in the morning, but I want you to sleep a little bit tonight.” Keith said, blushing. Lance nodded a bit and rested his head tentatively on Keith’s arm.

“Yeah… yeah.” Lance said. Things only seemed to get more awkward as they laid there, both too tense to sleep for several hours. Keith wouldn’t let himself sleep until he was sure Lance was asleep.

-

In the morning, Ulaz woke first. He saw an empty spot where Keith was previously sleeping, and he felt a cold, gripping fear. Had something happened to his kit? After a quick survey of the room, he relaxed when he spotted Keith asleep among the paladins, strangely cuddling Lance.

He gently woke the kits and made sure they got dressed, though Keith seemed to be reluctant to leave Lance’s side.

“Kit, did something happen between you and Lance last night?” Ulaz asked, his voice holding a light tone that was only slightly teasing. Keith flushed pink and grumbled as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“Maybe…” Keith mumbled. He knew he could never hide anything from his pack. If he did, Thace would surely find out what he was hiding. He would then report it to the other Galra in the pack, and everyone would know in the end.

“Is it something private? I will not push more if it is, kit.” Ulaz said. That’s what Keith loved about his pack. He couldn’t hide anything from them, but they never pushed if it was something private.

“Not really? I mean, everyone will find out eventually… Lance and I kind of got together last night.” Keith said. Ulaz grinned.

“You and Lance are now mates?” He clarified. Keith shrugged a bit.

“I mean, I guess? But its only been less than six hours, so it isn’t really… official? Like, we want to get to know each other first. I think? I haven’t talked to him yet. I said I would in the morning.” He said. Lance stirred along with all the other pack members and paladins. 

“Keith? Where’d you go?” Lance asked tiredly when he noticed Keith was no longer near him. Keith smiled a bit, finding the way Lance was confused when he first woke up endearing.

“I’m over here Lance.” Keith said.

-

Breakfast passed much in the way dinner the previous night had passed, with conversation and sleepy laughter as everyone tried to wake up enough for training.

“So, Lance, I have to rest for a bit before training so maybe we should talk?” Keith said softly, leaning over so Lance could hear him. Lance nodded a bit and followed Keith to his personal room. Regris would be in the nesting room, so there was no way to have a private conversation there. He hadn’t been in his personal room in forever.

“So… do you want to like… go on dates?” Lance said nervously. Keith smiled a bit.

“I would like to, but how would we do that? We’re separated a lot of the time.” Keith said, Lance shrugged a bit.

“Dates at the space mall? I don’t know.” Lance said. Keith smiled and laughed.

“That’s actually a good idea. We could explore a different area every time.” Keith said. Lance grinned a bit when he saw how excited Keith had gotten at the idea.

“Well, in that case, Keith, do you want to go on a date with me?” Lance asked. Keith smiled gently and nodded.

“I’d love to, Lance.” Keith said.

-

Half an hour later saw the group of paladins, Regris, Keith, and Antok training together. Antok was pushing Regris and Keith harder than Shiro had pushed any of them, yet Keith never gave up. He always got back up and only took a break when Antok forced him to. 

Keith and Regris were practicing with their blades via fighting each other with them. Their blades clashed and clanged yet they never actually struck each other. They moved quickly, and always took Antok’s commentary into account, something Lance had never seen Keith do. Yet, Keith seemed to be thriving under Antok’s instruction, never pushing himself too far past his limits and yet always taking commentary into account.

Regris and Keith froze in place at one point, their faces a few inches apart as they stood still. After a few seconds, Regris’ tail started to slowly swish as he dropped his blade. Keith copied his movements, his eyes never leaving Regris’. A steady silence filled the air just before Regris reached forward and tackled Keith. Then, everything seemed to fall back into motion.

The pair jumped and tackled each other, running around and wrestling on the ground. They were growling at each other and batting each other with their tails. To anyone else, it would see aggressive, though Antok knew they were just play fighting. It actually made him happy to see, even if it was during their training time. Keith was embracing his kit instincts and play fighting when he wanted to. It had taken a long time to get Keith to that point.

“Why aren’t you stopping them?! They’re fighting!” Shiro said, shocked that Antok actually looked pleased as he watched.

“They’re play fighting, black paladin.” Antok explained. He allowed the two to fight for a bit longer before getting them focused on training again now that they had their playful energy out for the time being. Antok knew it was only a matter of time before the two started play fighting again, though.

He was sure he would be teaching the paladins a lot about Galra kits, their instincts and needs.

He was confident it would turn out well, though.


End file.
